October 2, 2018 2.05 pm This story is over 65 months old

Southern bypass a ‘top project’ the government could fund

“We need to catch up”
Lincolnshire County councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways.

The senior county councillor in charge of highways said the North Hykeham relief road is “one of the top projects” that the government could fund.

The project has been given final backing by Lincolnshire County Council and will cost £148 million.

It will see the road join the ongoing Lincoln Eastern Bypass and the A46 in the west – completing the city’s ring road.

But the authority is looking to pay for a large part of the cost through funding from the Department for Transport.

The county council will bid for £104 million from the government, leaving £34 million to be paid for by the authority and £10 million by the developer.

Visual rendering of the River Witham Bridge expected to be part of the North Hykeham Relief Road. Photo: Lincolnshire County Council

Councillor Richard Davies described the scheme as “ambitious” and popular with the local community.

“Government is committed to spending money on infrastructure and this is a great project,” he said.

“I think it stacks up there as one of the top projects that the government could invest in.

“Now, we have to make that case and we need to push hard through our MPs and through the region to make that happen.”

He added that the road would connect the Midlands all the way through to the Humber port.

The project has also seen backing from scrutiny councillors who described it as a “no brainer”.

Meanwhile, Councillor Colin Davie, executive member for economy, said the country needs to invest more in its highways.

“It’s a good scheme and needs to be seen in context,” he said.

“We need to catch up as a country if we want to deliver the scheme that we need.”

The project comes as the council has taken on further highways schemes, notably the Lincoln Eastern Bypass and Grantham Southern Relief Road.

Councillor Davies said the authority is investing “more than ever” in infrastructure.

SUBSCRIBE TO LOCAL DEMOCRACY WEEKLY, our exclusive email newsletter with highlights from our coverage every week and insights and analysis from our local democracy reporters.